KNOWLEDGE
It is common knowledge that the root cause of our backwardness in most fields is illiteracy. Campaigns for the eradication of this drawback gathered momentum in the past four decades after independence. The results are, as expected, dramatic. However, while the percentage of literacy in India is going up, the number of illiterates has also been increasing, which is really incredible. Thus according to the 1991 census figures, there were 503 million illiterates in the country, 30 million more than in 1981. During the same period, the percentage of literacy went up from 34 to 39 per cent. There is no need for any sophisticated technique to explain the cause of this paradox, as it is obviously the result of the rapid growth of population. The rapid growth of population has outpaced whatever little progress had been achieved in literacy. For instance, from 1971 to 1981, literacy increased at an annual average rate of 0.7 per cent, while the country’s population grew by 2.15 per cent every year. In the following decade, the average rate of the annual increase in literacy was 0.95 per cent, whereas the population grew by almost 2.85 per cent every year during that decade. But the population explosion is not entirely responsible for the growing number of illiterates. The apathy of most states in failing to tackle the problem of adult illiteracy is also partly to blame. Till now, they have shown little awareness of the magnitude of the problem. Moreover, follow-up measures to prevent neo-literates from relapsing into illiteracy are just as important as the initial adult literacy campaigns. In this case, too, the State Education authorities are negligent. Not sufficient provision has been made for ‘continued education’. This can be done by setting up more rural libraries, adult schools and correspondence courses.
 1. Which of the following appears unbelievable, according to the passage?
(a) Growing illiteracy is owing to non-availability of reading facilities to rural masses.
 (b) Sufficient provision for continued education has not been made.
(c) The increase in literacy percentage and also the increase in the number of illiterates
(d) Population explosion is the only reason for the increase in the number of illiterates.
 2. The term ‘Neo-literate’ as used in the passage refers to a person who
(a) is not literate
 (b) has newly become literate
 (c) is a little literate
(d) is literate with no school education
 (e) is illiterate but capable of becoming literate with formal training
3. In the passage, the rapid growth of population has been attributed to
 (a) illiteracy
(b) apathy of government officials
(c) want of continued education
(d) None of these
4. Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
A. An effective check on population growth is the only solution for the attainment of full literacy.
 B. The cause of the paradox mentioned in the passage can be explained by using sophisticated techniques.
C. An adequate number of libraries and adult schools are not available in our country.
 (a) Only A                 (b) Only B
 (c) Only C                 (d) A & B
(e) A & C
5. Which of the following is the same in meaning as the word ‘outpaced’ as used in the passage?
 (a) surpassed             (b) nullified
(c) ruled out               (d) spoiled
6. Which of the following has been referred to as a paradox?
(a) The literacy percentage increases and the number of illiterates decreases.
 (b) The literacy percentage increases in proportion to the rate of increase in population.
 (c) The government is sensitive to the problem only at the planning stage but not at the implementation stage.
 (d) The literacy percentage and the number of illiterates are both increasing.
7. According to the passage, the problem could have been tackled by which one or more of the following measures?
A. Checking the growth of population
B. Making the adult literacy campaign more effective
C. Providing continuing education to neo-literates
(a) A & C Â Â Â Â Â Â (b) A & B
(c) B & C Â Â Â Â Â Â (d) All of these
(e)Â None of these
8. Which of the following is as important as the literacy campaign?
 (a) Checking the rapid population growth of
 (b) Starting correspondence courses and providing reading facilities
(c) Awareness of the magnitude of the problem of illiteracy
(d) Making sufficient provision for continued education
9. ‘Eradication’, as used in the passage means
 (a) removal                (b) destruction
 (c) starvation             (d) evaporation
10. Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?
 (a) Continued education programmers are now adequately funded.
(b) All the State governments have now fully realized the problem of illiteracy.
(c) Literacy campaigns in the pre-independence period were more fruitful than the later ones.
 (d) Literacy campaign achieved the desired results in the post-independence period.
 Answers:-
1.(b)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2. (b)
3. (b) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4. (a)
5. (a)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6.(d)
7. (a) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8. (c)
9. (b) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 10. (e)
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